Monday: This morning we started watching the video “Evolution vs. God.” We took a few minutes at the end of Bible to talk about our reaction so far to the film. During language arts, the students met in partner groups to read the next story. As they read, they answered questions on their task cards. For grammar mini, we looked at this week’s spelling list (list 5 #20-29 and bonus word: echinoderm). We will be having a spelling test on Thursday even though it’s a short week. The students were given class time to work on spelling homework, and we are starting Word Warrior Challenge again. To move up a title, they need to turn in spelling homework on time and receive an 8/10 on the spelling test. In science, we finished up our echinoderm illustrations and presented our facts in front of our peers. We finished the day by reading in our Heritage textbooks and discussing our reading.

NOTE: Today is the first day of 4th quarter, and we have the opportunity to start anew and finish strong! I will not be accepting any more 3rd quarter work.

Tuesday: We finished the video “Evolution vs. God” and discussed it afterwards. In language arts, the students evaluated the character’s actions and chose an after reading activity. We played a vocab game during grammar mini using this list: Vocab Game List. We also looked at primary resources in Heritage on D-Day. We completed the activity for resources A and B after reading 212-213 in our textbooks. We also read in our science textbooks on worms. We viewed pictures of tapeworms and found out the size of the longest tapeworm found in a human (wisegeek claims it was 82 feet!). We ended the day with workbook page 69, which we corrected in class.

Homework: Please turn in spelling homework tomorrow to move up a title and earn points for language arts

Monday: We are continuing on in Acts through a new Bible unit. We read in our Bible textbooks about the Romans at the time of the early church and read some background information on Barnabas. In language arts, we practiced theme, found the theme in our stories, and completed a strategy log over the text. During grammar mini, we looked over our new spelling list and practiced spelling through hangman. We watched the beginning of a video on Pearl Harbor and took a few notes on important information from the video. Lastly, we viewed a PowerPoint on mollusks and worked through an online dissection of a squid.

Tuesday: We completed a worksheet in Bible over the information we read yesterday. We also read a new story in language arts and completed a during reading activity on determining importance and plot. In the afternoon, we found 2-3 unknown words from our reading today and created a short story using those words. For Heritage, we finished the second half of the Pearl Harbor video and added final thoughts to our notes. We wrapped up the day with a jeopardy game reviewing mollusks: mollusk jeopardy.

Wednesday: Our chapel speaker used an analogy comparing the Christian faith to automobiles. Some of the points he made were to be prepared in emergencies and keep your automobile/faith serviced. Afterwards, we met in literature circles to discuss yesterday’s reading. The students did a great job asking each other thick questions and sharing relevant connections to the text. They finished language arts with a self-evaluation. In the afternoon, they had time to finish Bell Work from last week and yesterday’s short vocab story. We read in our Heritage textbook about the US response to Pearl Harbor. We wrote a paragraph on Japan’s role in WWII. Lastly, we read new information on echinoderms and started research on an echinoderm of our choosing.

NOTE: TOMORROW is science fair and FRIDAY is the end of the quarter. Everything needs to be turned in on Friday to participate in the end of the quarter reward. Students need to bring a dinner on Thursday, but they don’t need a lunch Friday as we’re having lunch brought in as a reward for raising the most money during Skate-a-Thon.

Thursday: The day of science fair has finally arrived! We read a few sections in our Bible textbooks this morning on geography/locations of Paul and Barnabas’ journeys. In language arts, we read Sarah’s story and completed a before and after reading activity. In the afternoon, the students finished a “Conjugarte” project on Spanish verb conjugations. We also listened to these Spanish songs. The remainder of the afternoon was devoted to practicing for science fair. The students did an excellent job presenting to their peers and the judges! One of our own received best of show!

Friday: We had a normal morning with a Bible worksheet mapping out the locations Paul went to on his first missionary journey. We took a spelling test, had reading buddies, and filled out another after reading sheet from our story. The rest of the day was a party for the Skate-a-Thon reward! Our class had a special lunch, and then the school enjoyed a movie together!

No homework! Today is the end of the quarter, so we have a fresh start when we come back Monday morning!

Monday: We are working on a quick project between units on self-esteem. We’ve created an outline of our heads and have written 20 things we like about ourselves. Our classmates will write things on the outside, and then we’ll go over it with watercolors.

During language arts, we reviewed what we read on Friday and started working on creating interview questions that we will perform for the class. We received our spelling list for the week (List 5: #1-9, suburb and bonus: disappointed). We practiced spelling during grammar mini. In the afternoon we took a science test, started writing our abstract and conclusion (many students finished this in class), and we read a devotional on Dunkirk.

Tuesday: We continued working on our posters in Bible. Two people have now finished. We worked on and watched one group perform their interview during language arts, and we completed a special “Would You Rather” for grammar mini. We are starting a new unit in science on animal classification. We talked about the two main categories of animals: invertebrates and vertebrates. We also watched a Bill Nye video on invertebrates and took a quiz over the material. In Heritage, we read about Winston Churchill and wrote down three lessons we can learn from him.

Wednesday: Our chapel speaker presented on Camp Oak Hills and handed out brochures for each family to bring home. We finished presenting our interviews after chapel. Students did an excellent job coming up with “thick” questions to ask each character! Later in the day, we worked on two mad libs for grammar mini, practicing parts of speech. We completed notes on categories of invertebrates in the form of a flipbook. We also read an interview with a couple that had witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor, and we chose two scenes from the reading to illustrate. Lastly, we went outside to play Capture the Flag in place of music class.

Homework: The remainder of the written report for science fair was due yesterday(this includes the abstract, conclusion, acknowledgments, and data). It can be handwritten since it’s a rough draft, but it shouldn’t be late! Science fair is one week from tomorrow, and I need time to be able to edit each student’s work so you can revise it before next Thursday

Friday: This morning we watched 20 minutes of Rick Warren’s sermon on identity in Christ. Students how haven’t finished their identity in Christ poster worked on it while we watched. In language arts, the students took a spelling test, went to reading buddies, and we examined theme by reading a passage and answering questions. This afternoon we played a game on adjectives, made observations on photos from Pearl Harbor, and we read about and viewed a couple clips on the colossal squid.

Homework: Science Fair is next Thursday! Remember to work on it over the weekend and the beginning of next week. We’d like to have the boards in on Wednesday to practice sharing about our projects in front of an audience.

Monday: In Bible we read about Peter’s escape from prison and Herod’s death from Acts 12. We created a perspective writing in language arts and discussed our reading from last week. In the afternoon, we played Spell-a-Roll on list 4: #21-30 (bonus word: acknowledgment). Ben completed his science fair experiment and we talked through an overview of the conclusion and abstract. We spent some time looking at different science fair display boards. You could do a simple Google search to get design ideas for your board. Lastly, we read pages 200-202 in Heritage and reviewed history up to 1935.

Homework: Spelling homework is due on Wednesday. Remember there are science fair deadlines coming up. Science fair will be here in no time!

Tuesday: Our Bible curriculum doesn’t have us read the end of Acts, but we took some time today to scan through and read some of the sections that jumped out at us. Some of our class favorites were the man who fell out of the window listening to Paul’s sermon and Paul in jail. During language arts, we read the next story (or chapters 3-4 in Number the Stars). We wrote down 6-10 thin and thick questions from our reading. In the afternoon, we worked on the vocab word “audacity” using this sheet: WordoftheWeek. Later when we talked about blitzkrieg, we examined a quote by Major General Fuller who said, “Speed, and still more speed, and always speed was the secret… and demanded audacity, more audacity, and always audacity.” We saw how Germany used a bold, offensive tactic to take over Poland. For the first half of Heritage, students met in groups as German commanders and planned out a battle strategy to take over neighboring countries. Ben and Hailie won the title of “Blitzkrieg Bombers” for coming up with a plan that was closest to the Germans’ plan in WWII. We also used pictures to sequence the stages of Blitzkrieg, and we watched the videos below.

Wednesday: Our chapel speaker gave an example of unfaithfulness with the Israelites in the wilderness. We saw a slideshow of the area the Israelites would have traveled after they left Egypt. In language arts, we did a couple activities on inference. We completed bell work for grammar mini and a study guide in science. The science test will be on Monday. Lastly, we viewed a PowerPoint in Heritage and reviewed the battle strategy of Blitzkrieg.

Homework: Science test on Monday. Written report (excluding sections already turned in) is due on Monday.

Thursday: This morning we split into prayer groups and quizzed each other on a Bible study guide. We will have a Bible quiz on the Acts unit tomorrow. Students may want to review their study guides at home in preparation for the quiz. Today in language arts, we worked on comparing and contrasting characters in our books. We also created a literature poster on Herbert’s story (or chapters 3-4). The poster had us find different parts of speech in the story, diagram plot, and illustrate 4 scenes from our reading. During grammar mini this afternoon, we talked about Spanish verb conjugation, a very difficult topic to understand. I imagine it will take us a few more weeks learning about verbs to understand conjugation. Afterwards, we completed a worksheet on the early battles of WWII and finished our science study guides.

Friday: We took a quiz on Acts in Bible. During language arts, we went upstairs to reading buddies, took a spelling test, and read the next story in our Holocaust books. This afternoon we played grammar games (something I think we’ll start doing on Fridays for grammar mini). We also played a review game in science and read about the battle of Dunkirk.

Monday: We took prayer requests this morning and then started working on a poem about Christian unity based on Acts 10. We are starting a new unit in language arts on the Holocaust. Most students will be starting the nonfiction book Survivors, while the rest of the class reads Number the Stars. We will have many of the same lesson objectives in both books, so they won’t be completely separate during the unit. Both of these books introduce the Holocaust, so I want parents to be aware that we are now starting to address this topic in class. This afternoon we had a presentation about online safety from a sheriff deputy. He stressed the importance of only doing things online that we’re comfortable sharing with parents/teachers. After the presentation, we had time for grammar mini and science. We read pages 91-95 and took notes on the 6 kingdoms.